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MAY 2012 - VOL. 28 NO. 5
(Continued on page 2.)
by Jeannine Anderson, APPA Public
Power Daily, March 23, 2012
More than 1,900 residents of Santa Fe, N.M.
have signed a petition asking the city and
county to look into the possibility of forming
a municipal electric utility. At the same time,
a regional planning board has authorized
$25,000 for an economic feasibility study
of creating a public power utility.
The petition drive in favor of municipal power
was organized by a local environmental group
called Unicopia. "Show your support for the
creation of a renewable municipal energy grid
for Santa Fe and help move the community
away from dirty coal as our energy source,"
says a note at SignOn.org encouraging area
residents to sign the petition.
Much of the electricity used by residents of
Santa Fe is produced by the San Juan Power
Station, a coal-fired plant owned by Public
Service Co. of New Mexico, said Faren
Dancer, the founder of Unicopia. The San
Juan plant and another large coal-fired plant
in New Mexico, the Four Corners Power
Plant, are among the nation's most polluting
coal plants, he said.
"We have over 300 days of sunshine"
in New Mexico, Dancer told APPA Public
Power Daily. "We should be a leading edge
power for renewable energy."
Dancer built the Emerald Home, a zero-carbon
footprint home in Santa Fe that was completed
in 2009.
Under a state law passed in 2007, Public
Service Co. of New Mexico was supposed
to be getting at least 10 percent of its power
from renewable resources by this year,
Dancer said. Instead, the utility is getting
just 5 percent of its power from renewables,
he said.
Santa Fe, N.M. to look at feasibility of municipal power
The Santa Fe Regional Planning Authority
recently called for a feasibility study to be
conducted by a not-for-profit group called
New Energy Economy, said Santa Fe County
Commissioner Kathy Holian. In addition to
the $25,000 authorized by the planning board,
New Energy Economy has received $10,000
in contributions toward the study, so it will have
about $35,000 to spend on the study, said Holian.
"We're looking at various scenarios," she said.
"I think it is important to go forward."
This is not the first time there has been interest in
the city taking control of the local power system,
said Nick Schiavo, energy specialist for the city.
In 2008, Cibola Engineering did a feasibility
study for the city and found that, from an
engineering point of view, a municipal utility
would work, he said.
Some of the interest in municipal power reflects
residents' interest in using more renewable
energy, Schiavo said. Public Service Co. of
New Mexico, the investor-owned utility that
serves Santa Fe, relies on coal-fired power
plants for 60 percent of its electricity, he
said. The other fuels in the mix are nuclear,
30 percent; natural gas, 9 percent; and wind
power, 1 percent, Schiavo said.
Supporters of the effort to create a municipal
utility see the possibility of using more power
from the sun, he said.
"We get 300 days of sun a year, and you can
still find land for $1,000 an acre," he told
APPA Public Power Daily.
A 1-MW solar photovoltaic system in Santa Fe
produced 2.5 million kilowatt-hours in its
first year, or 30 percent to 40 percent more
than would be produced by a
comparable PV system on the
East Coast, he said - because the
sun shines more in New Mexico.
In a January 23 editorial, "Powering up Santa
Fe?" the Santa Fe New Mexican backed the idea
of a municipal power grid.
Powering up Santa Fe?
by The New Mexican, January 22, 2012
The notion that Santa Fe - city and county
together - should explore the ownership
of an independent municipal power utility
is intriguing.
Right now, Santa Fe and most of the county
receive their electricity from Public Service Co.
of New Mexico. Most of that power, as we
know, is generated from coal-fired power plants
in northwestern New Mexico. Plants, by the
way, that are known for the pollutants they
emit as much as the jobs they bring to the
Four Corners area.
Local citizens think there might be a different
way to bring electricity to Santa Fe and more
than 1,500 people have signed a petition asking
the City Council to study the idea - a renewable-energy
municipal power utility owned by the
public. That's a decent number of signatures,
considering the driving force, local builder
Faren Dancer, just started gathering names
on January 12. Adding steam to the effort is
this news from Santa Fe County Commissioner
Kathy Holian: she says the joint city and county
Regional Planning Authority has allocated
$25,000 to study the idea.
It's not unheard of for cities to own utilities.
Santa Fe, for example, owns its own water
company. Up on the Hill, Los Alamos County
manages electricity, gas, water and waste
for residents. Under that arrangement, PNM
still owns the power lines, which Los Alamos
then leases. The benefit to consumers is that
the county can control its rates more closely,
as well as push harder to develop alternative
energy.

MAY 2012 - VOL. 28 NO. 5
(Continued on page 2.)
by Jeannine Anderson, APPA Public
Power Daily, March 23, 2012
More than 1,900 residents of Santa Fe, N.M.
have signed a petition asking the city and
county to look into the possibility of forming
a municipal electric utility. At the same time,
a regional planning board has authorized
$25,000 for an economic feasibility study
of creating a public power utility.
The petition drive in favor of municipal power
was organized by a local environmental group
called Unicopia. "Show your support for the
creation of a renewable municipal energy grid
for Santa Fe and help move the community
away from dirty coal as our energy source,"
says a note at SignOn.org encouraging area
residents to sign the petition.
Much of the electricity used by residents of
Santa Fe is produced by the San Juan Power
Station, a coal-fired plant owned by Public
Service Co. of New Mexico, said Faren
Dancer, the founder of Unicopia. The San
Juan plant and another large coal-fired plant
in New Mexico, the Four Corners Power
Plant, are among the nation's most polluting
coal plants, he said.
"We have over 300 days of sunshine"
in New Mexico, Dancer told APPA Public
Power Daily. "We should be a leading edge
power for renewable energy."
Dancer built the Emerald Home, a zero-carbon
footprint home in Santa Fe that was completed
in 2009.
Under a state law passed in 2007, Public
Service Co. of New Mexico was supposed
to be getting at least 10 percent of its power
from renewable resources by this year,
Dancer said. Instead, the utility is getting
just 5 percent of its power from renewables,
he said.
Santa Fe, N.M. to look at feasibility of municipal power
The Santa Fe Regional Planning Authority
recently called for a feasibility study to be
conducted by a not-for-profit group called
New Energy Economy, said Santa Fe County
Commissioner Kathy Holian. In addition to
the $25,000 authorized by the planning board,
New Energy Economy has received $10,000
in contributions toward the study, so it will have
about $35,000 to spend on the study, said Holian.
"We're looking at various scenarios," she said.
"I think it is important to go forward."
This is not the first time there has been interest in
the city taking control of the local power system,
said Nick Schiavo, energy specialist for the city.
In 2008, Cibola Engineering did a feasibility
study for the city and found that, from an
engineering point of view, a municipal utility
would work, he said.
Some of the interest in municipal power reflects
residents' interest in using more renewable
energy, Schiavo said. Public Service Co. of
New Mexico, the investor-owned utility that
serves Santa Fe, relies on coal-fired power
plants for 60 percent of its electricity, he
said. The other fuels in the mix are nuclear,
30 percent; natural gas, 9 percent; and wind
power, 1 percent, Schiavo said.
Supporters of the effort to create a municipal
utility see the possibility of using more power
from the sun, he said.
"We get 300 days of sun a year, and you can
still find land for $1,000 an acre," he told
APPA Public Power Daily.
A 1-MW solar photovoltaic system in Santa Fe
produced 2.5 million kilowatt-hours in its
first year, or 30 percent to 40 percent more
than would be produced by a
comparable PV system on the
East Coast, he said - because the
sun shines more in New Mexico.
In a January 23 editorial, "Powering up Santa
Fe?" the Santa Fe New Mexican backed the idea
of a municipal power grid.
Powering up Santa Fe?
by The New Mexican, January 22, 2012
The notion that Santa Fe - city and county
together - should explore the ownership
of an independent municipal power utility
is intriguing.
Right now, Santa Fe and most of the county
receive their electricity from Public Service Co.
of New Mexico. Most of that power, as we
know, is generated from coal-fired power plants
in northwestern New Mexico. Plants, by the
way, that are known for the pollutants they
emit as much as the jobs they bring to the
Four Corners area.
Local citizens think there might be a different
way to bring electricity to Santa Fe and more
than 1,500 people have signed a petition asking
the City Council to study the idea - a renewable-energy
municipal power utility owned by the
public. That's a decent number of signatures,
considering the driving force, local builder
Faren Dancer, just started gathering names
on January 12. Adding steam to the effort is
this news from Santa Fe County Commissioner
Kathy Holian: she says the joint city and county
Regional Planning Authority has allocated
$25,000 to study the idea.
It's not unheard of for cities to own utilities.
Santa Fe, for example, owns its own water
company. Up on the Hill, Los Alamos County
manages electricity, gas, water and waste
for residents. Under that arrangement, PNM
still owns the power lines, which Los Alamos
then leases. The benefit to consumers is that
the county can control its rates more closely,
as well as push harder to develop alternative
energy.